| Korean People's Army Air Force | |
|---|---|
| 조선인민군 공군 朝鮮人民軍 空軍 Chosŏn-inmin'gun kong'gun | |
 Patch of the Korean People's Army Air Force | |
| Founded | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) |
| Country |  North Korea |
| Allegiance |  Workers' Party of Korea |
| Type | Air force Space force |
| Role | |
| Size |
|
| Part of |  Korean People's Army |
| Headquarters | Pyongyang |
| March | "비행사의 노래code: kor promoted to code: ko" (English:Song of Pilots) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | GeneralKim Kwang-hyok[4] |
| Notable commanders |
|
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  .svg) |
| Flag | Front:.svg) Back: .svg) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Su-25,Su-7 |
| Bomber | Harbin H-5 |
| Fighter | Shenyang J-5,Shenyang J-6,Chengdu F-7,MiG-21,MiG-23,MiG-29, |
| Helicopter | MD 500,Mi-2,Mi-8,Mi-14,Mi-24,Mi-26 |
| Reconnaissance | Saebyeol-4,Saetbyol-9 |
| Trainer | FT-2,FT-5 |
| Transport | An-24,PAC P-750,An-2 |
TheKorean People's Army Air Force (KPAF;Korean:조선인민군 공군,romanized: Chosŏn-inmin'gun konggun;Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 空軍) is the unified military aviation force ofNorth Korea. It is the second largest branch of theKorean People's Army comprising an estimated 110,000 members.[5] As of 2024, it is estimated to possess some 570 combat aircraft, 200 helicopters, and a few transporters, mostly of decades-old Soviet and Chinese origin.[6][7][8] Its primary task is to defend North Korean airspace.In April 2022, theKorean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force name was changed to Korean People's Army Air Force.[9]
The Korean People's Army Air Force began as the "Korean Aviation Society (조선 항공대)" in 1945. It was organized along the lines of flying clubs in theSoviet Union. In 1946, the society became a military organization and became an aviation division of theKorean People's Army (KPA). It became a branch of the army in its own right in November 1948.[10] Training personnel for what was now known as the "Korean People's Air Force Air Corps" was a major hurdle, with the Soviets reporting in May 1950 that of the 120 trained pilots, only 32 were combat qualified.[11] The only experienced pilots in North Korea before this were those who flew for theIJAAF. These pilots were however rejected by society and the regime. Nevertheless, on June 25, 1950, the KPAF started flying support missions for theInvasion of South Korea.[11]
During the early period of the war, theIl-10 Beasts were the main bombers used in the strikes against airfields in South Korea, whileYak-9/9P Franks as well other trainer and fighter aircraft were used in CAP and Strafing attacks. North Korea's Air Force also at that time had many Japanese aircraft including aKi-54 transport.[11] Only one encounter withUSAF aircraft occurred when two unknown North Korean aircraft attacked twoF-82 Twin Mustangs. The KPAF aircraft were out of range and thus failed to score any kills.[11]
On June 27, a USAF F-82 shot down aYak-11 Trainer that was escorted by four Yak-9s. On the 29th, after Seoul fell, a strike was conducted onSuwon Airfield by 3 Il-10s and 6 Yak-9s, destroying an AmericanC-54 Skymaster on the ground. A second strike on Suwon was however intercepted byF-80C Shooting Stars.[11]
Throughout July and August, the KPAF continued in supporting the ground offensive near the Pusan Perimeter. During that time, they came into increasing contact with USAF and USN jet aircraft, resulting in more losses.[12]
During the first-ever strike by carrier-borne jet aircraft on July 3, 1950,VF-51, fromUSSValley Forge CV-45, claimed the first kill by a naval jet when anF9F-3 Panther shot down a KPAF Yak-9P.[12] On that day, many KPAF Yak-9Ps were caught on the ground scrambling, with many reportedly taking off towards each other. In the end, thePyongyang,Pyongyang East and Onjong-Ni Airfields (which were targeted in the strike), were hit successfully while the KPAF lost many of their aircraft.[12] At the same time, USAFB-29 Superfortresses, P-80Cs,F-51 Mustangs andA-26 Invaders began to attack ground targets inside North Korea, encountering very little resistance from the KPAF.[12]
Soviet sources reported that the KPAF was no longer operating after August 10 and was finally wiped out by a strike by USN aircraft on August 22. For their part, the KPAF only shot down 3 US aircraft in air combat (aB-29, anL-4 and anL-5). On November 6, 1950, two Yak-9Ps were shot down by F-51Ds from67th FBS became the last KPAF propeller aircraft lost.[12]
After the heavy losses encountered in July and August 1950, the Soviets began to train the North Koreans to fly theMiG-15 Fagot, although the Soviets were the first to fly the MiG against the UN Forces.[13] Although many North Korean pilots were experienced when they flew the MiG-15, the Soviets admitted that most were highly inexperienced.[14]
The Korean People's Army would continue to receive new generations of Soviet fighters throughout the mid-late 1950s and into the early 1960s, culminating in the receipt of the first MiG-21s which arrived in 1963, and possibly earlier. During hostilites in the inter-Korean Demilitarised Zone later that decade, Korean People's Army Air Force MiG-21s were credited with shooting down an American RF-4C reconnaissance plane on August 31, 1967, an F-105D fighter five months later on January 14, 1968 and an F-4B fighter the following month on February 12. On January 23, 1968 a pair of MiG-21 fighters were involved in the first stages of the joint operation with the Korean People's Army Navy to capture the American surveillance shipUSS Pueblo.[15]
The KPAF has on occasion deployed abroad.[16] It deployed a fighter squadron toNorth Vietnam during theVietnam War.[17]Kim Il Sung reportedly told the North Korean pilots "to fight in the war as if the Vietnamese sky were their own."[18]
North Korean personnel manned one MiG-21 company and two MiG-17 companies in the North Vietnamese fleet, providing a 50 percent increase to North Vietnam's fighter strength. Between 87 and 96 North Korean pilots served in the conflict, and were credited by North Vietnamese pilots with downing 26 American aircraft while taking 14 losses.[15]
On April 15, 1969,MiG-21s of the KPAFshot down aLockheed EC-121 Warning Star in international waters, in theSea of Japan.[19] In 1973, a North Korean flight of MiG-21s deployed to Bir Arida to help defend southernEgypt during theYom Kippur War.[20] The unit had four to six encounters with the Israelis from August through the end of the war. According to Shlomo Aloni, the last aerial engagement on the Egyptian front, which took place on 6 December, sawIsraeli Air ForceF-4s engage North Korean-pilotedMiG-21s. The Israelis shot down one MiG and another was shot down byfriendly fire from Egyptian air defenses.[21] KPAAF pilots continued to fly Syrian MiG-21s throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.[15]
KPAAF between 1956 and 1981 has received over 500 aircraft from China. Such as 100 units ofShenyang J-6 fighter jets in 1971, 18 units ofHarbin H-5 medium bombers, 40 units ofHarbin Z-5 transport helicopters between 1974 and 1975, additional 30 units of J-6 were delivered in 1978, 40 units ofChengdu J-7 were delivered in 1981.[22][unreliable source?]
In 1990–91, North Korea activated four forward air bases near theKorean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
According to a 2021 report from the USDefense Intelligence Agency, the most modern assets of the KPAF are theMiG-29 andMiG-23, while theSu-25 ground attack andIlyushin Il-28 bomber aircraft are also deemed by the DIA as having some capability. The KPAF also maintains obsolete types including theMiG-15,MiG-17,MiG-19, andMiG-21. The DIA assesses that the North Koreans would be unable to prevail in combat against US forces "overwhelming advantages in power projection, strategic air superiority, and precision-guided standoff strike capability," and would face "considerable difficulty" against South Korean air defences, relying mostly on Antonov An-2 transports for inserting special forces into South Korea andUAVs for intelligence gathering and supplementing the air force ground attack capabilities.[7]
In 2024, AdmiralSamuel Paparo, commander of theUnited States Indo-Pacific Command told reporters that North Korea is set to receive MiG-29 andSu-27 fromRussia in exchange fortroops for its invasion of Ukraine. Paparo also stated that while these are olderfourth-generation fighters, they're still "formidable".The War Zone states that while it's unlikely that Russia will be able to transfer these aircraft on a short-term at least (with the Russian aerospace industry busy keeping the Russian Air Force fleets operational during thewar in Ukraine), the delivery of these aircraft would provide a "modest − but badly needed − modernization" for the KPAF.[23]
In 2025,MiG 29 has launched air to air missile resemblingAIM-7 Sparrow andPL-11 during air drills on May 15th along two types of glide bombs and air to air missile resemblingAIM-120 AMRAAM andPL-12 were shown next to parked MiG-29.[24]
North Korea operates a wide variety ofair defense equipment, from short-range MANPADS such as9K34 Strela-3,9K38 Igla andZPU-4 heavy machine guns, high-altitude upgradedS-75 Dvina,[25] to long-rangeSA-5 Gammon andPongae-5 SAM systems and large-calibre AA artillery guns.[26][27] North Korea has one of the densest air defence networks in the world.[26][25]Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle bombers provide amedium-range attack platform, despite being generally obsolete, although it is likely they have the ability to launchKh-35 andP-15 Termit missiles.[28] A large part of the ground attack aircraft are kept in heavily fortified hangars, some of which are capable of withstanding a nearby nuclear blast. Stealth capacity is known in the KPAF through researching in radar-absorbing paint and inventory deception.[29]
It has been noted that the North Korean Air Force operates a fewMD-500 helicopters that were exported to North Korea byWest German merchants through Soviet vessels in the 1980s.[30] Several were seen equipped with SovietAT-3 anti-tank missiles during a military parade commemorating 60 years since Korean War armistice.[31] They later made another public appearance at theWonsan Air Festival in which they were seen sporting the new green camouflage paint scheme that has also been incorporated onAn-2s andMi-17s that have also been displayed at the air show.[32]
The KPAF possesses precision guided munitions such asKh-25 andKh-29 air to ground missiles along jamming pods such as SPS-141 for SAM suppression.[33] At least some of Il-28's/H-5's bombers are capable of launching air launched variant ofKumsong-3 anti-ship cruise missiles with known flight tests done in 2008 and 2011.[34] Ground launched coastal defense variant of Kumsong-3 has range of 240 kilometers.[35] The KPAF still incorporates many of the original Soviet air tactics, as well as North Korean experience from theUN bombings during theKorean War.
From 1978 to 1995, GeneralJo Myong-rok was the commander of the air force. In October 1995, he was promoted to vice-marshal and appointed Chief of the KPA General Political Bureau and a member of theKorean Workers' Party Central Military Committee. His place as commander of the Air Force was taken by Colonel GeneralO Kum-chol.
The number of annual flying hours (AFH) per pilot is, like almost every other aspect of the KPAF, very hard to estimate. Most sources on the subject abstain from giving hard numbers, but all of them estimate the average annual flying hours per pilot as being 'low' to 'very low'. The number of annual flying hours is very important in estimating the individual skill and experience of the pilots of an air force: more annual flying hours suggests better trained pilots. Most estimates present a rather grim picture: AFH per pilot for the KPAF are said to be only 15 or 25[36] hours per pilot each year - comparable to the flying hours of air forces in ex-Soviet countries in the early 1990s. In comparison, most NATO fighter pilots fly at least 150 hours a year. Ground training, both in classrooms, on instructional airframes or in a flight simulator can only substitute for 'the real thing' to a certain degree, and the low number of modern jet trainers in the KPAF arsenal points to a very modest amount of flying time for the formation of new pilots.
There are a number of possible explanations for the low AFH: concern over the aging of equipment, scarcity of spare parts - especially for the older aircraft - difficulties with worn airframes, fear of defection and the scarcity of fuel are all contributing factors. It is very likely however that some 'elite' pilots and regiments receive considerably more flying hours. Especially those equipped with modern aircraft and tasked with homeland defence - like the 57th regiment flyingMiG-29s and the 60th regiment flyingMiG-23s - are receiving multiple times the average AFH per pilot; however, aging equipment, the scarcity of fuel and the general economic crisis in North Korea will affect these regiments as well, and keep their AFH low compared toNATO AFH.
Agence France-Presse reported on January 23, 2012, that the KPAF had conducted more flight training than average in 2011.
The Chosun Ilbo reported on March 29, 2012, that the KPAF had dramatically increased the number of flights to 650 per day.[37]
Tongil News reported on July 20, 2013, that the KPAF's fighter jets and helicopters had conducted 700 sorties a day for 11 days as reported by a source in the South Korean government on March 13 after theKey Resolve military exercise started on March 11. Seven hundred hours of sorties is considered by the United States military as the capability to wage all-out war.[38]
Following is a list of bases where North Korean Army Air Force aircraft are permanently based.[39][40]
| Base | Location | Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uiju Airfield | Uiju County40°08′59″N124°29′53″E / 40.14972°N 124.49806°E /40.14972; 124.49806 | 24th Bomber Regiment | Il-28 (Harbin H-5s) |
| Panghyon Naamsi | 39°55′57.517″N125°12′24.804″E / 39.93264361°N 125.20689000°E /39.93264361; 125.20689000 | 49th Fighter Regiment | F-5A(MiG-17F) |
| Taechon Airfield | 39°54′12″N125°29′13″E / 39.90333°N 125.48694°E /39.90333; 125.48694 | 5th Air Transport Wing | |
| Kaech'on Airfield | 39°44′45″N125°53′43″E / 39.74583°N 125.89528°E /39.74583; 125.89528 | HQ, 1st Air Combat Command 35th Fighter Regiment | HQ MiG-19/J-6. Fighter base with 2500 m runway. |
| Pukch'ang Airport | 39°29′50″N125°58′32″E / 39.49722°N 125.97556°E /39.49722; 125.97556 | 60th Air Fighter Wing (1 ACC) Air Transport Wing (5 TD) | MiG-23ML/MiG-23UB/Mig-29Bs/MiG-29SEs/MiG-15UTI/Mig-21[41] H500D/H500E/500D. This base was where most new Soviet fighter aircraft were delivered during the 1960s.[42] |
| Samjangkol | Air Transport Wing (6 TD) | Mi-2 | |
| Sunchon Airport | South Pyongan Province39°24′43″N125°53′25″E / 39.41194°N 125.89028°E /39.41194; 125.89028 | 55th Air Fighter Wing (1 ACC) | Su-25K/Su-25UBK/Su-7BMK MiG-29/MiG-29UB[43] |
| Kanch'on | Air Transport Wing (6 TD) | Mi-4/Z-5/Mi-8/Mi-17/Mi-2 |
Pyongyang is also the location of HQ, KPAAF[44]
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| Name | Origin | Type | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air-to-air missile | ||||
| K-13 | Soviet Union | air-to-air missile | 1050 missiles[57] | |
| R-23 | Soviet Union | air-to-air missile | 250 missiles[57] | |
| R-27 | Soviet Union | air-to-air missile | 60 medium range missiles[57] | |
| Unnamed medium-range air to air missile | North Korea | air-to-air missile | N/A | |
| R-60 | Soviet Union | air-to-air missile | 190 missiles[57] | |
| R-73 | Soviet Union | air-to-air missile | ||
| KN-05 | Russia /North Korea | air-launched cruise missile | [58] | |
| AGP-250 | North Korea | glide bomb | 250 kg GNSS guided bomb[59] | |
| Name | Origin | Type | In service | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM | ||||||
| S-75 | Soviet Union | SAM system | 1950 missiles[57] | |||
| S-125 | Soviet Union | SAM system | 300 missiles[57] | |||
| S-200 | Soviet Union | SAM system | 75 missiles[57] | |||
| Pongae-5 | North Korea | SAM system | Unknown quantity of missiles | Based onS-300 PMU/PMU-1 | ||
| Pyoljji-1-2 | North Korea | SAM system | Tested in 2022. Based onS-400 | |||
| KN-13 | Soviet Union /North Korea | SAM system | S-75 with infrared seeker.[60] | |||
| Name | Origin | Type | In service | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reconnaissance satellites | ||||||
| Malligyong-1 | North Korea | |||||
Aero L-39 Albatros,Ilyushin Il-10,Ilyushin Il-18,Ilyushin Il-28,Lavochkin La-9,Lavochkin La-11,Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis,Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19,Mil Mi-1,Mil Mi-4,Nakajima Ki-43,Nanchang A-5C,Nanchang CJ-6,Polikarpov Po-2,Tupolev Tu-2,Yakovlev Yak-9P,Yakovlev Yak-18
The Korean People's Air Force has five categories of ranks: general officers, senior officers, junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and airmen.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Korean People's Army Air Force[61] | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | .svg){kind=icon} | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 특무상사 T'ŭkmu-sangsa | 상사 Sangsa | 중사 Chungsa | 하사 Hasa | 상급병사 Sanggŭp-pyŏngsa | 중급병사 Chungŭp-pyŏngsa | 하급병사 Hagŭp-pyŏngsa | 전사 Chŏnsa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korean People's Army Air Force[61] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||
| 인민군원수 Inmingun-wonsu | 차수 Chasu | 대장 Daejang | 상장 Sangjang | 중장 Chungjang | 소장 Sojang | 대좌 Daechwa | 상좌 Sangjwa | 중좌 Chungjwa | 소좌 Sojwa | 대위 Taewi | 상위 Sangwi | 중위 Chungwi | 소위 Sowi | |||||||||||
Occasionally KPA Air Force officers are promoted above General of the Air Force. In that case, they wear an army-style uniform, since ranks from Vice-Marshal and above are not divided into army, navy and air force.[62]
| Supreme commanders | Marshals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  | |
| Ranks in Korean | Tae wonsu 대원수 | Konghwaguk Wonsu 공화국원수 | Wonsu 원수 | Ch'asu 차수 |
| Ranks | Generalissimo | Marshal of the DPRK | Marshal of the KPA | Vice Marshal |
Generally as a separate service in the KPA, the service wears the same KPA uniforms but with air force blue peaked caps (especially for officers) or kepi-styled caps for men and berets for women, worn with their full dress uniforms. Pilots wear helmets and flight suits when on parade and when in flight duty while air defense personnel wear the same duty dress uniforms as their ground forces counterparts but with air force blue borders on the caps.
Due to the political condition of North Korea, several North Korean pilots from the KPAFdefected with their jets. These incidents include:
North Korea has stepped up the number of training flights since last month to as many as 650 sorties a day. The North Korean air force is conducting training flights even on weekends [...]
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